Dutch, French far-right political alliance fails

Thomas Escritt

Amsterdam: Far-right parties from the Netherlands and France have failed to form an anti-European Union parliamentary group in the European Parliament, Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said.

Failure to form a parliamentary group is a blow to the parties, since it will cost them the extra funding, staffing and speaking time that is unlocked when they form multinational party alliances with members from at least seven of the EU's 28 member countries.

A rival group of Eurosceptic parties that included Nigel Farage's United Kingdom Independence Party and Italy's Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo succeeded in forging an alliance last week by snagging a defector from France's National Front.

Mr Wilders said co-operation with a Polish right-wing party that has been accused of anti-Semitism and misogyny was "a bridge too far" for him, but said he hoped to form a parliamentary group later in the year.

"The Freedom Party wants to form a parliamentary group but not at any price," he said. He pledged to continue co-operating with other like-minded parties from Austria, Belgium and Italy as well as with Marine Le Pen's National Front.

The parties had until Tuesday to form a group and their failure meant they would be known as "non-attached" members in the Parliament.